Difference Between PDT and PST

PDT vs PST

Difference between PDT and PST is simply an hour. However, in order to understand how that one hour difference happens as well as what that one hour time difference means, we should understand what each term refers to. PDT stands for Pacific Daylight Time and PST stands for Pacific Standard Time. Both PDT and PST are used in the Pacific Time (PT) zone, which is observed in one part of the North American continent. Different parts of North American continent come under different time zones as it is a huge continent. So, under Pacific Time zone only a few states come. PDT and PST are expressed by referring to GMT or UTC. In this article, we present more information about PST and PDT, as well as the areas which employ these time practices.

What is PST?

Pacific Time Zone is observed in the North America and is generally called Pacific Time or PT. It is also known as North American Pacific Standard Time (NAPST). This time zone is called Pacific Standard Time (PST) in winters, when standard time is observed, and Pacific Daylight Time (PDT) in summers, when daylight saving time is observed. The states in the US where PST is used include California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Canadian provinces in which PST is used are British Columbia and Yukon and the Mexican state, Baja California Norte also uses PST.

Standard time is the regular time which is either ahead or back of GMT. Since this Pacific Time zone is based on 120th meridian west of Greenwich, the local time is calculated by subtracting 8 from GMT or UTC (UTC – 8). This is the standard time. That is,

PST = UTC – 8 hours

What is PDT?

Daylight time is when clocks are moved an hour forward in an attempt to save time. To make maximum utilization of sunlight this step is taken to move the clock forward. This adjustment is done during the summer. The clocks are again turned back by an hour during fall time. Thus, PDT is Pacific Daylight (Savings) Time when we turn our clocks forward by an hour. PST is observed when we turn back our clocks by an hour. That is,

PDT = UTC – 7 hours

Daylight Saving Time comes into effect every year on second Sunday of March at 2 AM local time and continues till November when it is again pegged back by an hour to revert back to Standard Time.

• States that observe PST and PDT are as follows. The US states that follow PST and PDT are California, Idaho, Nevada, Oregon, and Washington. Canadian provinces where PDT is used during summers and PST the rest of the time are British Columbia and Yukon. Then, the Mexican state, Baja California Norte also uses PST and PDT.